Suspicious powder found in Detroit mayor's office

DETROIT — City staffers quarantined after a suspicious package was found in the executive suite of outgoing Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick have been released.

Greg McDuffee, general manager of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, says the Hazardous Materials Unit of the Detroit Fire Department was called Wednesday evening "after an envelope of suspicious powder" was found.

McDuffee says less than a dozen staffers were quarantined inside the 11th floor suite for about 2½ hours. He says Kilpatrick was not inside the building.

Earlier this summer, a lightning strike closed the building for nearly two weeks.
Incoming mayor Ken Cockrel Jr. is expected to take office Sept. 19 once Kilpatrick's resignation takes effect. Kilpatrick announced his resignation last week as part of a plea to obstruction and assault charges.